Bookmaker suspends betting on next Bank of England governor

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LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Bookmaker Betway has suspended betting on the next governor of the Bank of England after receiving a flurry of wagers on Andrew Bailey, currently head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The incumbent governor, Mark Carney, is due to leave the post in June next year and Britain’s finance ministry - which is responsible for hiring Bank of England policymakers - has yet to advertise the job.

“There had been some speculation that Andrew Bailey was a leading candidate to replace Mark Carney as the new Governor of the Bank of England and in the last few days we’ve seen huge support for him taking the role,” Betway’s head of public relations, Alan Alger, said in a statement.

“The current chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority was available at 9/1, but as a result of the weight of support towards him, we’ve had no choice but to suspend the market.”

The finance ministry had no immediate comment and the FCA also declined to comment.

FCA head Bailey has previously been tipped by analysts as Carney’s most likely successor.

Bailey reached the rank of deputy governor of the Bank of England with a focus on banks before becoming the FCA’s chief executive. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and David Milliken Editing by David Goodman)